Xenoblade Chronicles game's final speedrunning world record can never be beaten - because it was set just before Nintendo killed the Wii U and 3DS servers forever
Buzzer beater
The speedrunning record for Xenoblade Chronicles X's online mode was set right before the servers went offline in what's believed to be the JRPG's very last online run.
The Nintendo Network servers for the 3DS and Wii U were sadly shut down last month, on April 8, meaning that several games lost online functionality for good. As such, players flocked to their favorite games to embrace their doomed multiplayer modes once more.
That included Xenoblade Chronicles X, the beloved JRPG starring giant mechs that's absolutely crying out for a Nintendo Switch port, and its online mode that had players running through a series of Squad Missions. Speedrunner YMG-C was one such player holding onto the game in its final hours, and they miraculously managed to set a new world record just before servers died.
"Allow me to share a fun fact," dedicated fan xc_omoroid tweets. "The final world record in the XCX Online Any% category, set by YMG-C, was set on the world's final XCX Online speedrun, which was done right before the official server shutdown."
Allow me to share a fun fact. The final world record in the XCX Online Any% category, set by YMG-C, was set on the world's final XCX online speedrun, which was done right before the official server shutdown. You can watch it here if you are interested: https://t.co/NjCcx6GubdMay 21, 2024
YMG-C actually held the previous record too, once beating the online mode in 2 hours and 57 minutes. The streamer's new world record is only a minute faster, clocking in at 2 hours and 56 minutes, and that record is now physically unbeatable unless the full game eventually receives a remaster - maybe for the Nintendo Switch 2, please.
The only player capable of beating that record would have been xc_omoroid, who managed to stay connected to the servers for weeks after shutdown through sheer willpower and a refusal to turn off their Wii U, beating a 14-year-old record held by the final Halo 2 players. There are now only three players left clutching to the defunct servers, stretched between Mario Kart 7, Super Mario Maker, and Splatoon. Godspeed to them.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.